Animal Feedstuff Overview and Characteristics

Feedstuff Overview

• Defined as any substance suitable for animal feed; combines several feedstuffs for a balanced diet.
• Serve as raw materials for animal production.

Desirable Characteristics of Feedstuffs

• Nutrients must be biologically available.
• Free from toxins and pathogens.
• Should be palatable.
• Must have a manageable physical form.
• Available in sufficient quantities.
• Should be economical and cost-effective.

Dry Forages and Roughages

• Comprise forages cut and cured with more than 18% crude fiber or 35% cell walls (dry basis).
• High cell wall content results in low net energy per unit weight.

Fresh Forages

• Include pasture, range plants, and forages fed fresh (soilage or green chop).

Silage Crops

• Main crops for silages are grass, legume forages, and corn.

Energy Feeds

• Products contain less than 20% protein and not more than 18% crude fiber or 35% cell walls (dry basis).
• Examples include cereal grains, sorghums, and byproduct feeds.

Protein Supplements

• Defined as having 20% or more crude protein.
• Sourced from oil meals and animal origin.

Additives in Animal Feed

• Common additives include mold inhibitors, antioxidants, antibiotics, flavors, enzymes, hormones, buffers, and direct-fed microbials.

Importance of Pasture

• Major feed source in the US for dairy, beef, and horses.
• Offers benefits like reduced labor, cost-effectiveness, and use of non-agricultural land.

Essential Qualities of Pasture

• Should be resilient and enduring.
• Must support early growth in the season and continue into late fall.
• Should form a compact turf to resist trampling.
• A diverse plant variety aids growth in varying soil conditions.

Maturity Effects on Forage Composition

• Increasing maturity results in reduced protein, energy, and carotene content.
• Higher maturity is linked to increased fiber content and decreased mineral content.

Grazing Risks

• Cattle and sheep grazing high-legume pastures face a risk of bloat.
• Tannins decrease palatability due to a bitter taste.
• Prussic acid poisoning can occur in livestock grazing sorghum after drought or trampling.
• Estrogenic flavonoids in white clover and alfalfa can cause reproductive issues.
• Alkaloids can cause fetal malformations in pregnant animals.
• Coumarin found in sweet clover decreases palatability.
• Nitrate poisoning from high nitrate accumulation can lead to abortion or death in livestock.

Common Issues in New-Growth Forage

• Hypomagnesemia, or grass tetany, is a recognized problem in cattle grazing lush forages.

Green Chop Definition and Benefits

• Fresh forage cut, chopped, and fed directly in confinement.
• Advantages include maximum nutrient yield per acre and lowered nutrient losses during harvest.

Green Chop Disadvantages

• Quality inconsistency day-to-day.
• Requires labor for daily harvest and feeding.

Hay Production

• Hay is created by dehydrating green forage to a moisture content of 15%.